The Atlanta Hawks are the NBA’s best basketball team right now, and Kyle Korver is its best shooter. Korver is so good that if the season ended today, he would become the first NBA player in history to finish a season with 50-50-90 shooting percentages while lugging up a significant number of shots.*
That means Korver will have shot over 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line. He’s currently at 52.3 percent, 54.0 percent and 91.8 percent, respectively, as of the time of this writing.
So does one of the most accurate shooters in NBA history have some tips on how to shoot? You bet your ass he does. Tucked inside a wonderful profile of Korver by USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, Korver notes the 20 things he takes into consideration when he decides to launch a shot. That’s right, not one thing, or two things, or three things, or even 10. Twenty things. Listen up, kids:
- Wide stance.
- Exaggerated legs.
- Drop through heels.
- Engage core.
- Slight bend at waist.
- Up strong.
- Elbow straight.
- One hand.
- Fingers spread.
- Slight pause.
- Elbow up.
- Land forward.
- See the top of the rim.
- Ball on fingertips.
- Strong shot.
- Shoulders forward and relaxed.
- Ball and arm risen straight.
- Hold the follow through.
- Keep the release point high.
- On turns, square shoulders.
“I’m not going to check every single one of them every time,” Korver told USA Today. “There’s a certain point, a certain feel I’m trying to get to every day. Some things, you do more naturally. Some things, I have to think about them. As I’m shooting, I have this list in the back of my head, and I know I’m not doing one or two of them. Once I feel I get all 20 of them clicking, then I’m going to have natural rhythm in my shot.”
Have fun trying to replicate that.
For now, go read the rest of Zillgitt’s profile. It’s very good.
*Current Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was the first player to unofficially make the 50-50-90 club, but he didn’t shoot enough field goals and free throws to technically qualify, according to the measurements used for such decisions.
